


Haunted

by MiyaBlack



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bill doesn't like people playing with his toys, Creepy, Demon War, F/F, F/M, He really doesn't, Horror, I really like writing scary stuff guys, Older Pines Twins, Violence, t for lenguage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-03-25 12:46:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3810937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiyaBlack/pseuds/MiyaBlack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When things start going bump in the night, Dipper doesn't think much of it. Having a demon in the house comes with its fair shares of screaming floating heads and random giggles in the middle of the night. However, Bill has nothing to do with it this time. A new demon is on the loose and is threatening everything Bill holds dear. Specifically, his two favourite meatbags.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dipper sighed heavily as he leaned back on his desk chair. His back and eyes hurted from the long hours spent in front of the computer. He should probably go to sleep if he wanted to be at least presentable in the morning. He still had to manage the Shack and take tourists around, 8 hours of sleep or not.

 

Mabel's music had died down a long time ago, and that was normally his que to go to bed, but he had been too intrigued by his research.

 

The only light in the room came from his laptop's screen and the only sounds were of his computer's fan and a thunderstorm that had been looming over Gravity Falls for the last couple of days.

 

The 22 year old took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. To the surprise of absolutely no one, his bad habit of reading with poor light ended up with him having to get glasses, but he didn't mind. He liked his glasses. They reminded him of his Grunkle.

 

With one final defeated sigh, he saved his work and instructed the computer to shut off. Tired, he gazed at the screen as it ran it's normal process of shutting down. The screen finally turned off, and there behind his right shoulder, Dipper could've sworn he distinguished a face, silently screaming.

 

He jumped up and quickly turned around, out of mere reflex, but tried to relax once he realized there was nothing in his room.

 

"Bill, for fuck's sake, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he asked out into the darkness of his room, slightly out of breath.

 

There was no reply.

 

"Cipher, I know it's you trying to scare me. Ain't gonna happen. Go to bed, we have an early morning. And I swear to god if you try to get into my bed while I'm sleeping... AGAIN... You are going to guide every single tour." Dipper threatened, unfazed, as he placed his glasses on his desk. "Heard me, you isosceles bastard?"

 

Dipper heard a scuffling sound and a small giggle, but he ignored it. Bill normally came out, took full responsibility for his prank and tried to coax Dipper into letting him sleep with him in case 'the head came back'. The silence acceptance of the human's threat was uncommon, but not unheard of.

 

Without a second though, Dipper shuffled out of his jeans and into his precious bed. He turned and moved around for a moment until he felt sleep slowly overcome him. He was completely unaware of the two red eyes glaring at him from the darkness.

* * *

 

"Well, you look fresh and beautiful, Pine Tree!" Bill mocked as he leaned over the counter and smiled at Dipper.

 

"You know him, Bill. Once he gets a new book he won't stop until he has devoured it, analyzed it and read it at least three times." Mabel laughed while arranging merchandise.

 

"No regrets. What were you doing up, though?" Dipper asked as he tried to fix his bowtie in his reflection. At the beginning he had debated a bit the idea of becoming the new Mr.Mystery after Stan's retirement... But in the end it had been inevitable. As long as there was a Mystery Shack there would be a Mr.Mystery.

 

"Who, me?" the demon asked, crooking his head to the side.

 

"Yeah, you tried to scare me last night. Saw you."

 

"You saw... me?"

 

"Well, I saw that screaming head you're so fond of." Dipper replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Now, look alive, guys, we have a school bus coming in today."

 

"Aye, aye, captain!" Mabel immediately replied, enthusiastic enough for herself and her brother. Mabel was a genius with kids. Dipper not so much.

 

"Dipper, I was out cold last night." Bill said, frowning slightly.

 

"And I was the Queen of England last night. Bill, I'm sorry, but whenever a screaming bodyless head appears in this house I will immediately assume it was you." the man said, brushing it off. "You're not going to scare me, you know?"

 

Bill wanted to insist, but Dipper was dragged outside by the sound of children screaming.

 

* * *

 

 

"Mabel, have you seen Bill?" Dipper asked, peeking into the tv room where Mabel was watching some soap opera while knitting.

 

"Not since we closed the Shack, no."

 

"If you see him, can you tell him I'm looking for him?"

 

"Aw, are you missing your boy, Dipping Sauce?"

 

With a raised eyebrow, Dipper turned to his sister. "What?"

 

"I know it's hard, Dipper, but you have to give him his space, you know? 'Me time' and all that stuff. You can cuddle with him later." Mabel said with a giggle, enjoying how red her twin's face went.

 

"Mabel, no. Just no."

 

Mabel practically snorted. "It's cute how you try to deny it."

 

"You know what?" Dipper asked, raising his arms. "I don't have to hear this. I'm going to my room."

 

"I think he's outside, you baby!" Mabel called out to him, laughing.

 

"Just tell me that!" Dipper called back, practically slamming the front door open and close.

 

The sunset had filled the sky with pinks and purples. Dipper sometimes forgot how beautiful the forest looked and smelled. Fresh air mixed with wet dirt and the smell of pines... He hadn't been venturing out into to the forest much lately, but he missed it. He made a mental note then to try to make space for it. Running the Shack was tiring, but he could manage a small weekend escape or something. Maybe even drag Bill along with him. He could know about some cool things or places and-

 

Dipper caught himself before that train of thought could go any further. Mabel's teasing was already almost unbearable, so maybe inviting Bill wouldn't be a good idea.

 

The demon had calmed down from the days of their childhood. Once in awhile he would disappear, being summoned by some poor idiot, but he never did anything too terrible. Besides annoying Dipper to hell and back. It seemed that the demon found a special pleasure of making Dipper reach the very limits of his patience. He had even found a way to get a human body just to follow him around in plain daylight and perster him 24/7. At least Dipper got some retribution for that, since he got one more worker in the Shack.

 

Some nights, as he flipped over the yellowed pages of the journal that had shaped so much of his childhood, he found that page again. The words 'TRUST NO ONE' practically screaming at him for housing a demon. Sometimes, after a strange comment or a marked glance, suspicion would bubble up inside of him and he felt sure that Bill was up to something... But nothing ever happened. Bill seemed content with annoying the living hell out of him. Perhaps that was his plan now, to annoy him to death.

 

"Biiiill!!" he called out, tired, looking around the Shack. The demon was nowhere in sight.

 

"Bill, I'm going grocery shopping, want something from the store?" he tried again, lying to get the blond demon to appear. He actually just wanted to ask him something about the new book he had found.

 

"Bill! Dipper says he wants to go on a date with you!" Mabel's voice called from inside, making him jump and curse at the same time.

 

"Mabel, shutup!"

 

"What?"

 

Dipper looked up to see Bill, peering down at him from the roof.

 

"What are you doing up there?" Dipper asked, backing slightly to look at him.

 

"Serious demon business." Bill replied, completely straight faced.

 

"So, dicking around in the roof, drinking a soda?"

 

"Serious demon business." Bill repeated, marking his words as if that was precisely what he meant.

 

"Right, cool. Listen, when you're done with your soda, could you help me out with some-"

  
Dipper never finished his sentence, since a shrill scream of terror came from inside the Shack. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Bill if this is some sort of joke..."

The demon didn't even turn to look at him. He looked furious, his fists clenched and knuckles white.

In Dipper’s arms, Mabel shook uncontrollably, clenching his shirt and sobbing into his chest. Her hair was splattered with blood and he was pretty sure that if she wasn't so busy crying, she would probably be throwing up.

"Take it down, t-take it down, please!" she begged in a broken voice. Dipper looked up and flinched. Nailed to their ceiling was a doe. The poor thing was still alive, but it had its skin flipped backwards and there was blood falling everywhere, its desperate cries for help making it all worse.

"He's mocking me." Bill hissed and Dipper could practically see the blue flames engulfing his body.

"Who's... what?"

"I'm being mocked! Called a fool! 'A skinned deer crucified to the ceiling'! Don't you humans have that saying?"

"Uh, no."

"It means I'm weak. He thinks I can no longer control my territory." Bill hissed.

Mabel started retching and with one last worried look at the demon, Dipper rushed her to the bathroom. Once he made sure she was done throwing up, he turned on the shower and practically pushed her under the hot water.

"Dipper... I can..."

"You're in shock, Mabs. It's okay, just relax. It'll be ok."

Once he'd made sure she had her favourite bubble bath in hand, Dipper leaned down to pick her bloodied clothes and left the bathroom.

"Bill... what's going on?" Dipper asked softly, thankfully looking up at the now deer-less ceiling.

"I'm being challenged by another demon." Bill explained as he patted non-existent dust from his vest.

"Wha-"

"You saw a screaming head, right?" the demon asked, though he didn't wait for a response. "It really wasn't me, it was him. I have marked you and the Shack as my home, and the idiot thinks he can just appear and take it all."

Dipper wanted very much to protest against the idea of being 'marked', but realized that was neither the time or place to do so. Besides, as far as he was concerned, if he had to be marked by a demon, he would rather be marked by Bill than by a random demon who pinned a poor deer to the ceiling.

"How's Shooting Star?" Bill asked, breathing deeply, trying to calm down.

"Really scared, but the bath should help her." Dipper looked down at his own bloodied shirt and flinched. "What can we do to kick this demon out of here?" he asked, pulling the shirt off, careful not to get the blood on his hair.

"Nice of you to offer help, Pine Tree, but theres not much you can do. I'm going to have to go and chase the bastard away."

Dipper looked up to protest, but the words died in his throat. Bill was looking at him intensely, possessively. His black eyes tracing his bare chest and then resting on the tattoo on his right arm. It was the same as Grunkle Stan's but Dipper had added to it Bill's summoning wheel. When the demon had seen it for the first time, he had bursted out laughing and had been almost endearingly clingy for the next few days. Bill said he had marked himself as belonging to him. Dipper said it was just a stupid tattoo and that he could have it removed, but he didn't.

"Do you even know what demon it is?" Dipper insisted, thinking that maybe he could dig up some information about it on his books.

"I have my suspicions... But don't you worry that pretty little head of yours over this." Bill chimed, now all smiles, as he patted Dipper's hair. "I'll kick him to the next century before you can say 'scrambled eggs'."

Dipper rolled his eyes. “Seriously, Bill.”

“I am touched, Pine Tree. I didn’t know you liked belonging to me so much.” Bill practically purred and completely invaded Dipper’s personal space.

Flustered, the human regretted having taken his shirt off. “A-As if! Last time I offer my help!” Dipper grumbled, throwing his bloodied shirt at the demon’s face and stomping off.

“I’ll be gone for a couple of days!” Bill called up to him as he climbed the stairs, fuming.

“Whatever!”

“Don’t miss me too much!”

“Please, take your time! Seriously! Years would be okay!” Dippers yelled back, frowning once he heard the small 'pop' the demon made when he vanished into thin air.

“You two should just get married already.” Mabel mumbled as she emerged from the bathroom, with the fresh set of clothes Dipper had left for her and a small smile in her face.

“Nevermind him. How are you feeling?” he asked softly, placing his hand on his twin’s shoulder.

“...Better.” she replied softly, looking slightly sick again. “Is it…?”

“Bill cleaned it up, like nothing ever happened.”

Mabel nodded her head, leaning her forehead against Dipper’s shoulder. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

Dipper hadn’t really realized when he had outgrown Mabel, but now the height difference between them was obvious. It made him feel responsible and protective of his twin, even if she was a couple of minutes older than he was.

“Sure. We can have a sleepover, we’ll watch a movie and have popcorn and doritos or whatever you want.”

Mable sniffed, looking up at her brother. “Can I put edible sprinkles on them?”

Dipper laughed. “Sure.”

 

* * *

  
Dipper opened his eyes and frowned. Groaning, he turned to his bedside table, his clock flashing ‘3:02’ in a painful red light. Why was he awake? He looked to his right to find Mabel sleeping peacefully.

He sat up, scanning every part of his room through squinted eyes. He didn’t have his glasses on, but he was pretty sure everything was just as it was meant to be, no screaming heads or strange shadows.

With a tired huff, he laid back down, trying to get comfortable again. And that was when he realized what had woken him up.

He could hear heavy footsteps out in the hallway. Bolting right back up, and after taking the small bottle of holy water he kept in his side table (in case Bill got too annoying), walked right up to his door.

Dipper froze in place, his hand on the doorknob. The footsteps were getting closer. He looked at the door, the safeguarding sigil Grunkle Stan had taught him was now painted in sharpie over the wood. It had been a last minute thing, but it would keep them safe.

Whatever was walking outside was heavy and it was dragging something behind it. Every instinct in him told him to open the door and just pour the water over whatever was sneaking around, but he stopped himself. They were safe like this, if he opened the door… well, who knows what would happen. What could come in.

He backed away from the door, and just as he did, the footsteps and dragging noises faded away.

“Dipper?...”

He turned around to find his sister sitting up on the bed, rubbing her eyes. “What is it?” she asked in a small and sleepy voice.

With one last worried glance at the door, Dipper walked back to bed. “Nothing, Mabs. Just went to the bathroom. Go back to sleep.”

Mabel hummed and practically wrapped herself around her brother as soon as he laid in the bed next to her, quickly falling back asleep. Dipper stared into the darkness of his room for a few more minutes, waiting for the footsteps to return, but the silence of the night eventually lulled him back to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Dipper chewed on his mechanical pencil, his eyes scanning the best book he'd found on demons and spirits of the area. Maybe a Native American spirit... but why would it want to challenge Bill? Or maybe a human soul corrupted... But Gravity Falls was such a small, quaint town, whatever could a demon want with the place? Unless it was something personal against Bill. In which case all bets were off.

 

“Hey, brobro.” Mabel quipped as she sat next to him in the attic’s bench.

 

“Hey, Mabs.” he muttered, not raising his eyes from the his notes on demons. 

 

“I’m… Uh...” she started, but fell silent again. Her hesitation made Dipper look up, raising an eyebrow at his sister’s behavior.

 

“You’re…?” he asked, trying to get her to speak.

 

“I-I’m going to town. Gonna get something for dinner, don’t feel like cooking today.” she said, a bit too quickly.

 

“Er… whatever you’re having is fine by me.” he replied, concerned by her behaviour. “Is everything okay?”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Just couldn’t make my mind.” she giggled nervously. “Pizza it’ll be then.” And with that she left him, quickly skipping down the stairs.

 

From the window, he saw her get into the car and drive away from the Shack. And Dipper couldn’t shake the feeling that something was bothering her.

 

* * *

 

The next couple of nights were peaceful in the Shack. Sure, Dipper heard a small crack in the wood here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary. No screams, no footsteps, no demons…

 

And even if that last part worried him a bit, he knew from experience that Bill could take care of himself.

 

Mabel seemed tired as of late, but it probably had to do with the major influx of school buses that had been touring the Shack the last few days. He tried to help her, but the kids normally ignored him and flocked to his sister.

 

That night started like any other. After dinner they had both plopped down on the tv room to watch something on tv, but Mabel kept nodding off.

 

“If you’re that tired you should go to bed, glitter brain.” Dipper teased her.

 

“Oh, no.” she laughed. “I love this movie, I wanna see it.”

 

Mabel hated old movies and she was willingly watching The Search for Spock.

 

“Right, come on. Time for bed, you’re too tired.” he declared as he turned off the tv and helped her off from the sofa.

 

“Mkay…” she muttered as she allowed him to lead her up the stairs, tightly holding onto his arm.

 

“You okay, Mabs?” he asked as she hesitated on the door of her room. She looked tense and it might’ve been his eyes messing with him, but she almost looked scared.

 

“Y-Yeah. Just tired.” she mumbled as she almost gingerly released his arm.

 

“The Shack is closed tomorrow, we can go to the movies or something. You choose.” he offered, hoping it would make her feel better.

 

“Sounds like a plan.” she replied, not sounding too convinced. “Goodnigt, Dipps.”

 

“G’night.” He hesitated for a moment but left for his own room downstairs after she closed her door.

 

He quickly jumped into his pjs and threw his glasses of, happily flopping down into his bed. He barely had a chance to pull his covers over himself before the sound of rain outside and his exhaustion dragged him off to sleep.

* * *

 

He expected to wake up to the sound of Mabel humming or the smell of bacon. The sun was supposed to come out that morning, so maybe that would’ve woken him up. Dipper would’ve rather be woken up by a million different things than the sounds of his sister’s sobbs.

 

For a moment he stared up at the ceiling, his sleepy brain trying to process what he was hearing. He turned his head to the side, squinting slightly as the numbers ‘3:06’ flashed back at him. He sat up, confused, wondering if he was imagining things. A loud thump almost made him jump out of his skin and his brain went to overdrive as Mabel’s cries sounded louder.

 

“Mabel?!” he called out loud, getting the holy water from his bedside table and immediately walking to the door. Without hesitating, he grabbed the doorknob and quickly turned it, but nothing happened.

 

“Mabel?! What’s wrong?!” he yelled for her, pushing against the door, but it was useless. It was almost as if it was sealed, not inching one bit.

 

Mabel’s cries grew louder and his fear with them. “Mabel!! Wha-”

 

A deep growl echoed through the house followed by a chilling deep laughter.

 

“ **NO**!” Dipper yelled looking up at the ceiling, right where Mabel’s room was. “ **MABEL**!”

 

Dipper practically threw himself at his door, desperately pushing against it and jiggling the door knob. “Leave her **ALONE**!” he yelled into the darkness, well aware that it could hear him.

 

“She’s mine…” a deep growly voice hissed at him from right outside of his door and Mabel screamed in pain.

 

“LIKE HELL SHE IS!” Dipper yelled slamming his shoulder against the wood. “Just wait until Bill gets his hands on you and you’ll pa-!!”

 

The door opened on Dipper’s face, throwing him back into his own room. He looked up, slightly dazed from the hit to the head he’d just received, to see a hunched over shadow figure with glowing red eyes staring at him. The figure moved in quick spasms and all of a sudden, Dipper felt claws digging into his arms. He tried to scream, but he was petrified, staring wide eyed right back at the demon now hovering over him.

 

“Cipher is a demon of the mind.” it growled, it’s foul breath almost making Dipper gag. “He has no power in this realm. He can not defend his territory let alone a couple of meatbags.”

 

Fear clouded his thoughts, and all he could think off was how to get away and run as far away as he could from the shadow demon, but in his fog of panic he realized something. Mabel was no longer screaming. Dipper had somehow shifted its attention from her. She was safe.

 

“E-even so, he’s more powerful than you are.” Dipper taunted and gasped in pain as the claws raked down his arms, tearing into his flesh.

 

“Stupid boy, do you want to die that much?” the demon laughed in a terrible hoarse voice that made Dipper’s heart freeze in terror. “It would be delightful to see Cipher’s face when he arrived here, after following my decoys all of this time, just to find his little pets sliced up into pretty ribbons.”

 

Dipper whimpered, but shuffled slightly, pulling his arms closer to his body. There was a way out, he just had to push a little further.

 

“It would be the last thing you’d ever do.” the man replied, finding courage from gods know where.

 

The demon barked a laughter. “You really are too much, kid!” it leaned closer, undigging one of his claws from Dipper’s arm and grabbing his chin. “Maybe I should just posses you both and make him kill you himself.”

 

The shadow leaned closer and Dipper cried out, just as it opened it’s jaws, showing off a shark-like set of teeth that came closer and closer. A black tar like substance dripped from it’s mouth, into Dipper’s face, and several things happened at once.

 

As soon as the substance touched his skin, it was repelled by a blue light. The demon reeled back, hissing, upset, and Mabel started screaming again. Dipper took his chance and threw the whole vial of holy water, which he had finally retrieved from his pocket, right at the demon’s face, making it shriek in pain.

  
Without a second of hesitation, Dipper ran past it, across the hallways and flew up the stairs. He bursted Mabel’s door open, grabbed his sobbing sister, threw her over his shoulder and practically killed himself going down the stairs but being careful not to hurt Mabel. Ignoring the growls of the demon, he took the car keys from the little hook from where they were hung and ran out. 

He didn’t look back at the Shack until he had placed Mabel in the passenger seat and had ran around the car into the driver’s seat, the keys now in the ignition. He could see the demon staring at them from Mabel’s window, and as soon as their eyes met, the red glowing orbs disappeared.

That was all Dipper needed to turn on the car and drive away as quickly as he could in the falling rain. 


	4. Chapter 4

Pacifica Northwest was a very light sleeper.

It was, depending on the time, a curse or a blessing. It meant she was never late for oversleeping, but it also meant that something like her phone vibrating would quickly pull her out of her sleep. Slightly annoyed, she took said phone, quickly unlocking it and answering the call. The caller id belonged to Mabel and an uneasy feeling pooled in the blonde's stomach.

 

The brunette had seemed off the last couple of days, even dozing off when they had gone to the movies. Pacifica had asked her about it, but Mabel said she was just tired from working in the Shack. She hadn’t believed her, but left it at that.

 

“ ‘Alo?” she answered, sleep still slurring her voice.

 

“Pacifia, we need help.”

 

That voice definitely did not belong to Mabel. The sobs in the background, however, did.

 

“Dipper, wha-” she asked, jumping up from her full-sized bed and grabbing her robe, completely awake now.

 

“We’re right outside your house. My car. I can’t… Can’t focus…”

 

“I’m running down the stairs, sit tight.” she said and practically dropped the phone on the small table near the entrance doors. She ran out into the rain and quickly spotted the godawful car that belonged to the Pines family. It wasn’t even properly parked, it front left tire had climbed over the small fence and into the entryway garden.

 

Some part of her registered that she was barefoot, running on gravel in the middle of a rainy night, to save the Pines twins. It was funny how things worked sometimes.

 

“Dipper?” she asked panicked, as she opened the driver’s door, crying out as she saw all of the blood that covered the male Pines twin.

 

“H-Hey.” he muttered softly as he held onto his arms, from where the blood was coming. “I think I’m… fainting…” he whispered, leaning against the driving wheel.

 

“Horace! HORACE!” she yelled out for the house butler as she took of her robe and tried pressing it against his wounds.

 

“What the hell happened to you two?” she asked after taking in the sobbing hysterical mess that was Mabel.

 

Dipper chuckled softly. “Hell, precisely.”

 

* * *

 

With a heavy sigh, Dipper opened the door to his home.

 

Luckily for him, the slashes in his arms had been deep but they hadn't really injured him. He had been in and out of the hospital in a day. Stitched and bandaged he'd had to explain over and over how they had been attacked by a bear.

 

Mabel, however, hadn’t fared as well. She would talk softly, her eyes blankly staring out into nothingness. Her usual cheerfulness drowned by whatever had happened to her that night. Whenever he or Pacifica had tried asking her about it, what the demon had done to her, she would go into a small panic attack and just shut off completely. They had left the topic alone after the second try. She was now a little bit better but had almost fainted when she heard her twin saying that he was going back to the Shack.

 

“Dipper, you can’t.” she had said, terrified for his safety.

 

“I am not letting a demon keep me out of the house Grunkle Stan left us. And if it thinks it’s won, it has a whole different thing coming his way.” Dipper announced, crossing his arms, trying not to flinch at the pain of the stitches of his arms pulling at his skin.

 

“Don’t be an idiot, Dipper. “ Pacifica warned him. “This is no time for bravado shit. If this thing can kill you no house is worth sacrificing yourself for it. Stan would be against it too.”

 

“What am I supposed to do then, huh?” he asked, exasperated. “That place is our livelihood. We’ll be homeless and jobless if I leave it like this. No, I refuse to give up.”

 

“At least wait until Bill returns.” Mabel pleaded.

 

“ _If_ he returns.” Dipper added bitterly.

 

Nobody had said anything, but they were all thinking it, and Dipper knew. They didn’t want to say it infront of him, but Bill was taking his sweet time coming back home. They were all honestly worried.

 

But he wouldn’t wait. He couldn’t wait. Dipper was not that kind of man. If his many years in Gravity Falls had taught him something, it had been not let fear control him.

As he walked into the Shack, he steadied himself. It was just as he had left it two nights ago. Every fake, dissected, creature in place. The gift shop was a bit dusty, but that was completely normal. Every mold spot, cobweb, empty can of Pit Cola… Everything was just as they had left it, but Dipper could feel it now. It was watching him.

 

“Didn’t think I’d be back for round two, huh?” he asked out loud, but got no reply. “Bill or no Bill, this is our home, you are not welcome in it and you are not staying in it!”

 

* * *

 

Digging through his room, he finally found the bundle of sage he was looking for. Along with most of his books on demonology, white pure candles and all of the holy water he could find in the house, he bunked down in the kitchen.

 

And he could feel it.

 

He'd placed a single white candle in the kitchen's doorway, and although its light was pretty much useless with the sun coming in from the windows, it kept it at bay. But it was watching.

 

Dipper looked up and frowned. He could feel it glaring at him… but why wasn't it manifesting? He had done so without a problem that night. So, what was it waiting for?

 

He looked down at his journal, biting the top of his pen, lost in thought.

“Day 1, first occurrence: Doe in ceiling. ‘Demon challenge’ 6pm. Day 2, second occurrence: footsteps in hallway. 3:02am. Day 3: nothing. Day 4: nothing…” he read softly, trying to find a pattern to the demons actions. Something that could give him any sort of hint to what he was dealing with.

 

If only Bill-

 

With a deep sigh, he leaned back, not allowing himself to continue his train of thought. The dream demon was okay. He had to be okay. Bill was too much of a pain in the ass to just go and disappear like that… But still…

 

_Day 13, returned from the hospital. Candle keeps it at bay for now, 5:30pm._

 

* * *

 

 

It was around 8pm, the last beams of sunlight were slowly dying, engulfed by the forest surrounding the Shack, and Dipper was hungry.

 

He groaned, putting down the book in his hands and walking to the fridge, hoping that something had survived unspoiled their days of absence. Almost throwing up there and then, Dipper closed the door immediately. Apparently, he had no such luck. But it was strange. He maybe expected the milk to expire, but everything smelled like it had gone all that time without refrigeration. He looked up and flicked the light off and then on. It seemed to be working perfectly well. The fridge might’ve been busted, but Dipper had felt the cold air sip out of it when he had opened the door.

 

So unless one of the demon’s powers was to make food go bad, which it could as well be, he just couldn't understand why everything had spoiled so badly.

 

He reached up for the cereal box and carefully opened the bag, not knowing what to expect. But it smelled just fine. He brought out some of the puffy and colorful cereal in his hand and after smelling it, he carefully nipped at it. It was just fine, so food-spoiling-demon-powers was out of the question.

 

“You're gonna fry your brain from thinking too much, meat bag.” it tantalized him, its voice coming from the living room.

 

“Oh.” he replied, calmly sitting back down on the kitchen table. “And here I hoped you'd fucked off.”

 

The demon laughed. “Not a chance.”

 

Dipper was equally terrified and angry. He wanted all of this nonsense to be done and over. He had enough with one demon in his life.

 

_8:17pm. Taunting me. Taunted back. Probably a bad idea._

 

He pushed his glasses back up his nose and glared out at the dark hallway. It could be his imagination, but he could've sworn he saw a small black figure dash across. It could be his imagination, but it most probably was the blood-thirsty demon haunting his house.

 

Once again, he looked down at the journal, reading it over and over, trying to make sense of the demon.

 

_Previous event: Screaming head in my room. Around 1am._

_Day 1, first occurrence: Doe in ceiling. ‘Demon challenge’ 8:30is pm._

_Day 2, second occurrence: footsteps in hallway. 3:02am._

_Day 3: nothing._

_Day 4: nothing._

_Day 5: footsteps? 4:18am._

 

Dipper plunged his hand into the cereal bag, eating the sugary treat directly from the box. Mabel would've probably yelled at him for that, but without milk, he didn't think he needed a bowl. He cursed at their fridge, making a mental note to check it after this whole demon thing was over.

 

“Is your little Bill still not back?” it mocked, it’s voice growing stronger.

 

Dipper growled, biting back his reply. Focus on notes now, kick demon ass later.

 

_Day 7: nothing. Mabel looks tired._

_Day 8: voices? 12:29 am._

_Day 9: nothing. Mabel dazed off a lot today too. Lack of sleep? She doesn't like being alone. Seems nervous._

 

Dipper bit especially hard on his pen as he read the next entry.

 

_Day 10: third occurrence: full apparition, physical aggression, probably mental too. ~~Ask Mabel.~~ Around 2 am._

 

And then it clicked. 8:30, 3:02 am, 4:18am, 12:29 am… The demon only appeared in the dark.

 

Dipper looked up at the fridge, his eyes widening in fear and realization. The last nights had been warm. Three nights unrefrigerated would do that to food. During the day, the demon had no power, couldn’t manifest, couldn't speak, it could only wait.

 

Wait until it was dark.

 

Slowly, Dipper looked out of the corner of his eye. The night had settled in, no sunlight was left at all.

 

“Hey, meatbag, let’s play something.” the demon sneered.

 

Dipper looked up at the hallway, it was completely dark, as if a mantle had been placed over the doorway and not a thing could be seen beyond it.

 

With a pang of absolute terror, Dipper realized that at some point or another, the candle he had placed as his only protection had died out. The room’s lights were turned on, so he hadn't noticed.

 

Slowly, the lights in the kitchen began to dim. With a final 'pop' they turned completely off, along with the refrigerator's hum, leaving Dipper in pitch darkness.

 

It didn't have to wait anymore.

  
“ ** _Peekaboo_**.”


	5. Chapter 5

The darkness engulfed him and surrounded him. He couldn’t see a centimeter in front of his nose, but he still dashed towards the direction of the door. The demon’s chilling laughter boomed around him as he slammed his shoulder against the doorframe, though still managed to leave the kitchen.

 

“Nowhere you can hide, kid!” the demon yelled as Dipper fumbled his way through the darkness, holding his injured shoulder.

 

He could hear several heavy limbs quickly running behind him. The noise made him wonder for a moment what kind of a creature was following. He quickly decided he didn’t want to know.

 

“Run, run, run, little snack!”

 

All of those summers spent in the Mystery Shack proved worth it. Even in complete darkness and with a demon chasing him, Dipper was somehow navigating his way around the house.

 

Of course, that was when he felt the most terrible burning sensation across his back. He yelled out in pain, stumbling against the nearest wall, somehow still willing his feet to keep moving.

 

“I learned my lesson last time, little human. You are somehow protected from possession, but not against my claws.”

 

Now, what felt like hot coals gashed at his left calf, making him scream again and slowing him down even more.

 

“Fuck you.” Dipper managed to hiss, between teeth, as he limped across the hallway.

 

“You humans have strange curses.”

 

Dipper felt the most terrible chills running down his spine as he heard what seemed like a giant millipede running behind him. Oh, he really didn’t want to see the shapes the demon was taking. He just had to hold on a bit more, a few more steps.

 

“I should eat you right now. You’ve proven to be more of a nuisance than I could’ve ever imagined.” the demon hissed as Dipper felt a hand with horribly long fingers grab his right arm. It burned him like molten iron. He screamed and kicked, trying to break free, but it was useless.

 

“But I understand why Bill keeps you around.” the demon laughed over Dippers screams. “You are so much fun to mess with!”

 

The demon picked him off of the floor and dangled him by the arm. Dipper felt like fainting from the pain. He could practically feel his skin bubbling under the demon’s grasp. He had to focus, though. He had to survive.

 

“I should nibble on one of your legs, just a bit, to watch you squi-UGRH”

 

Dipper fell to the ground, looking up as the demon choked on the holy water he had finally been able to get out of his pocket.

 

Thanking himself for forgetting it was in his pocket and leaving it there, he shuffled the last steps to his door and practically threw himself in, slamming the door behind him.

 

* * *

 

“I’m not going to grow tired, meatbag, but I do grow impatient.” the demon threatened from outside as Dipper gingerly removed his shirt, inspecting his back on the mirror. He was not surprised to find three deep gashes across it.

 

“You can whine and bitch all you want, as soon as the sun comes out, you’re gone.” the brunette replied angry, flinching as his fingers touched the edge of the wound. His arm was burnt, but not as bad as he had feared, but his leg was pretty messed up. He’d probably need some new stitches.

 

The demon growled. “This little sigil on your door won’t protect you forever! The longer it takes for you to open it, the angrier I’ll get!”

 

“Well then, knock the door down.” Dipper replied calmly, knowing perfectly that the inhuman spirit couldn’t even touch the door.

 

A terrible roar echoed in the night and Dipper flinched as he heard crashing, things falling and glass breaking. Maybe taunting the demon wasn’t a good idea.

 

After a few minutes in silence, he saw the shadow of the demon again, right outside his door. “Will you open the door now?”

 

“I am not suicidal, thank you very much.”

 

“I’ll get your stupid sister!”

 

“You might be a demon, but you don’t even know where she is.” Dipper replied, trying to sound collected and calm, but using Mabel was low, and the demon knew it.

 

“If I can’t get to you I’ll get to her, like I did before. All of those nights, you were sleeping peacefully, protected by your sigil, and you left her all defenseless, practically serving her on a silver platter to me. Oh, the things I did to her in her dreams, I-”

 

“SHUT UP!” Dipper jumped up, throwing down the medicines and the bandages he had been using to tend his wounds. “You don’t KNOW where she is. And even if you do find out, I have made SURE you won’t even be able to get near her. And I swear to god, if you ever even THINK about her the wrong way, I’ll-”

 

“You’ll WHAT boy?! You’re helpless! The only reason why you are not a pile of bones and blood by now is because Stan Pines seemed to have one last drop of reason in him and taught you some safeguarding sigils! Don’t you even TRY to get cocky with me when you’re hiding like a mouse!”

 

Dipper didn’t reply. The demon had mentioned Grunkle Stan. There was something else here.

 

“How do you-” he started, but the demon had already stomped away and was, by the sound of it, breaking something else downstairs.

 

* * *

 

As soon as he had bandaged himself up as best he could, Dipper brought out his journals and looked for any information that either his Grunkle or Grandfather  had ever encountered the shadow demon, but there was nothing. He had practically memorized the pages, even making a photocopy version of the original journals so he wouldn’t damage them any further in his adventures. Of course, he had started his own series of journals which described his collective knowledge of Gravity Falls, but that would not help him then.

The pages looked the same, the same codes, hidden messages, drawings, photographs. It said nothing about demons.

 

He looked up at his bookshelf, trying to find a book that could help him, something about demons or anything… but he had left all of his demonology books downstairs. The demon probably had had a field trip turning them into confetti by then.

He cursed under his breath,there had been some really rare and expensive tomes there and he doubted the demon carried cash with him.

With a deflated sigh, and trying to ignore the sounds of the demon roaming downstairs, Dipper took one of his grandfather’s old books on protective magic and flopped down on his bed. The pages had been yellowed by age and most of the edges were covered in scribbles, notes and further instructions. He found the sigil he had sketched in his door in the third chapter. It was an anti-demon sigil, originally meant to keep Bill at bay. Funny how much he actually wanted the mindscape demon there now.

 

After a few more minutes of reading, he sighed deeply and closed the book, placing the small lamp he had been using to read on the bedside table along with the book and his glasses.

 

He was tired, he wanted to sleep, and the demon seemed to have calmed down. He didn’t even bother with throwing his covers on himself, he just leaned back and let sleep slowly claim him.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

“Hey, it’s me.” Dipper said into the phone, which he held between his shoulder and his ear. The Shack around him was a mess. Chairs had been chewed and tossed aside, the floor was covered in small pieces of paper of what the man could only assume were his demonology books and not one frame had been left hanging on the wall.

 

“Oh good, I thought you’d be demon bait by now.” Pacifica snapped, but he could hear the relief in her voice.

 

He chuckled as he heard Pacifica and Mabel fighting for the phone.

 

“Yeah, I’m still alive, Paz. It takes more than a simple demon to knock me down.” he replied as he walked into the kitchen to find all of the cans piled up on top of each other, making strange structures. Well, apparently the demon had gotten bored during the night.

 

“Well, I think Bill has you wrapped around his finger pretty tight.” Paz commented and Dipper could almost hear the smirk in her face.

 

“Don’t want to hear it, Northwest.” he mumbled, embarrassed.

 

“Hey, brobro, how was your night?”

 

“Hey Mabs. It was okay. I’m used to dealing with crybaby demons." he replied offhandedly, trying to ignore the way his arm ached. “He did a real number on the Shack, though.” He didn’t want to worry Pacifica and Mabel more than he had to. He’d probably have to explain the strange uprising of bear attacks near the Shack if he went to the hospital again, though.

 

“Should I come back?” Mabel’s tiny voice said from the other side of the phone and Dipper couldn’t help but smile tenderly. His sister was scared stiff… but she still felt uneasy about leaving him alone.

 

“It’s okay, Mabs. I’m fine. I just need to find something to kick his ass out. Until then, there isn’t much sense in you being here. Don’t worry about me.”

 

“Just… Just be safe.”

 

With a frown, Dipper picked up the bottom half of what had once been his notebook. “Don’t worry. I’ll get rid of him.”

 

This had gone on long enough. Bill or no Bill, he’d get rid of that damned shadow demon if he had to do it himself.

 

* * *

 

In retrospective, Dipper thought, it hadn’t been his brightest idea.

 

Sure, demon sealing circles were pretty effective against most demons.

It should’ve worked.

It had to have worked.

But it didn’t.

Which meant one of two things: he was either dealing with a super powerful demon, which he doubted, or he was dealing with a summoned demon. Summoned demons were different, stronger and bound to that world by something much stronger than a petty sigil circle. And if it was indeed a summoned demon, then it meant that someone was after them. But, either way, it seemed like they still hurted like hell. So now, he had a pissed off and agonizing demon rampaging in his home.

 

Hip-fucking-hooray.

 

For the moment being, he realized he needed to get out.

 

Trying to ignore the demon’s gnarly voice, which was now screeching in a language that had probably been lost to mankind for some centuries, and his own beating heart, Dipper ducked under the table and towards the shop door. He knew he had to get out. His room was not safe and the lab was practically a trap. He refused to lead the demon to Pacifica and Mabel, so he couldn’t take the car to the Northwest Mannor. Besides, driving with a demon hot on your tail didn’t sound too safe and he’d had his share of bad choices for the night.  The forest would have to do. Maybe he’d stumble into something that could help him. He could think of no other way.

 

Taking advantage of the demon’s blind fury, he threw himself towards the door and dodging the remains of what had once been a chair by mere centimeter, he flew out into the night.

 

The cold night air stung his throat as he gasped for air. The low hanging branches scraped his arms and he was pretty sure he was going to be severely bruised by tomorrow. If he made it until then, at least.

 

“You’re making this harder than it hassss to be.” the demon hissed, almost in his ear.

 

“Leave me alone!” he shrieked, terrified.

 

“If you let me kill you… I’ll leave your sissster alone.”

 

By the sound of the demon made as it slithered through the forest, it had shape shifted into a giant snake like creature, and Dipper definitely didn’t want to be caught.

 

He tried to think of a safe place, somewhere he could run to, some kind of secret he could use on his favor, but his panic stricken mind came up with nothing.

 

“Lassssst chance, meatbag…”

 

“Not a chance, asshole!” Dipper yelled through burning lungs, “And even if  you do manage to kill me, Bill will come back eventually! And he isn’t gonna be happy!”

 

It was an empty threat, but he didn’t know what else to do. Who knows what dark universe Bill had gotten himself into and who knows when he’d be back. If he ever did come back.

 

Dipper had been so focused in running and not killing himself on the process that it took him a few seconds to realize that he could no longer hear the demon. He couldn’t have possibly out ran him… so where was it?

 

And that was when he collided, face first, into a warm and soft body. The sudden stop almost made him dizzy and the air had been clearly knocked out of him, so it took him a few seconds to realize that a pair of arms were holding him up.

 

“N-No! Let go!” he screamed, still slightly dizzy. He had no holy water, no sigils. He was defenseless. He braced himself against the unavoidable pain that claws digging through his flesh would bring. This was it, he was going to die.

 

“Hell, kid, I know I can be sort of an ass, but I thought you liked me!”

 

The familiar high-pitched voice sounded almost like music to the boy’s ears. He felt the air slowly return to his lungs and for the first time in a while he felt safe. He probably muttered something like “Oh… Thank goodness…” But it was muffled by him burying his face against the other’s chest.

 

Bill couldn’t help but chuckle, finding himself being tightly held by the human which normally rejected any kind of signs of affection.

 

“What are you doing out here so late, Pine Tree?” He asked, once the human seemed to recover slightly. “Chasing gnomes or-”

 

He had pulled Dipper away from him to look at his face, but in the process had brushed his fingers against the bandages and injuries on the human’s arms. Dipper flinched and Bill noticed.

 

“Dipper…” he muttered, lifting his shirt and running his fingers above the stitches. “What happened here?”

 

“You’re not going to like it.”

 

With a gentleness that Dipper would’ve never believed that Bill was capable of, the demon inspected his injuries and quickly cured them, enveloping them in the blue fire that emanated from his fingertips.

 

“I imagine not. Tell me.” Bill asked, looking seriously at him.

 

“There was a shadow demon. He… he haunted Mabel for a few nights then outright came after us. She’s… okay. Well, she’s getting better. She’s staying over at Pacifica’s. I was trying to reclaim the Shack and demon circles seemed like a good ide-"

 

But before Dipper could finish, Bill yanked him back and stood in front of him.

 

“Cardinal…” the blonde casually said into the darkness of the forest, an almost predatory smile spread on his lips. “I didn’t take you for an idiot. Or suicidal.”

 

From the shadows appeared what Dipper could only imagine was the demon’s true form and something that would haunt his nightmare for a couple of months. A human’s face, or what was left of it, seemed to be sewn into the body of a giant centipede, however the jaw was unnaturally wide and the top five rows of limbs ended in what seemed like long, black claws. It was ‘smiling’ and its lower body was shifting side to side.

 

“Cipher! In the flesh!” the demon hissed, though it was clearly not happy to see Bill. “Vinny was supposed to keep you… entertained… for a few days.”

 

“He did.” Bill assured him, flipping his cane in the air and then leaning on it, chuckling in a way that made Dipper’s skin crawl. “That little deer prank was clever, very much his style.”

 

Dipper realized that the other demon, Cardinal, seemed to hesitate. Was he honestly wondering if he should take on Bill? Was he that desperate to get to him?

 

“However, last I heard from the bastard, he’d been rotting within a human seal for being too cocky and you’re too weak to break him out… now, how did he free himself, I wonder? Maybe you got some help?” Bill asked, clearly threatening the other demon.

 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Cardinal asked, leering at the other demon.

 

And, for a moment, everything paused, Dipper caught himself in mid breath and the forest fell into an eerie silence. It was the wave of cold air that made him realize what had happened. They were in the Mindscape. Bill was done playing.

 

“That is exactly why I’m asking.” Bill said, leaning back and placing his arm over Dipper’s shoulders. “And, while we’re at it, I’d also like to know why this human, who is obviously mine, is injured.”

 

Dipper blushed and frowned for a moment. He disliked the idea of belonging to Bill, but he realized that was not the moment or place to discuss it, so he remained silent. Also, if demons were coming after him, it was probably best to just agree with whatever Bill was saying.

 

“Listen, Cipher, I’m not your human’s baby sitter and-”

 

Dark vines emerged from nowhere and tied themselves around the demon, tightly enough to draw blood and Dipper was pretty sure he heard a few bones cracking.

 

“I don’t feel like listening to your lies, bug.” Bill mused, leaning back, relaxed. “The only noise I want to hear coming from you are your bones cracking.”

 

“Bill…” Dipper muttered, softly brushing his fingers across Bill’s back. “Wait.”

 

“Y-Yeah! Listen to the meatbag!” Cardigan whimpered, blood splattering from his mouth.

 

Bill frowned, looking back at Dipper. “Pine Tree, this is demon business, I have to-”

 

“Oh, no, go ahead, by all means. Kill him a thousand times if you want to. After what he did to Mabel... “ Dipper drifted off. At this, Bill’s eyes twitched and the sickening crack of more bones breaking made Dipper slightly queasy, but he continued. “Just don’t kill him until we can find out who summoned him.”

 

“Oh?” Bill hummed, grinning and looking over his shoulder at the weaker demon. “Summoned, huh?”

 

Cardinal growled, a deep guttural noise erupting from his chest.

 

“So, big guy, we can do this the easy way or the hard way…” Bill hummed, leaving Dipper behind and drifting over to the other demon, a delighted smile in his face.

 

The demon snapped it’s deformed jaw at Bill, which only made him burst out laughing in delight.

 

“Oh, I love it when they choose the hard way! Give me a second, Pine Tree!” the demon said, almost bubbly, and the next thing that Dipper knew was that he was waking up in the damp forest floor, all alone.

  
He panicked for a moment, looking around, not sure what to expect. But the forest seemed demon-free for the moment. With a long sigh, he stood up and headed back to the Shack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not let this fic die... Maybe just rest for a couple of weeks... hehehe... Sorry u w u  
> I've just been so busy, there's so much happening lately! But today's episode just had me wanting to write... and well, here it is. I had to rewrite this chapter a few times, but I hope you guys like how it came out!  
> I hope to update the next chapter soon... please bare with me :'3


	7. Chapter 7

The place was, of course, a mess. His grunkle’s home was barely standing, let alone presentable for opening the next morning. Most of the exhibitions had been torn to pieces. The damned demon had even gone after the famous cheapskate. Tiredly, Dipper kicked some of the glass that was spread around the old exhibit. He had already been thinking about throwing it away and it was half chewed, so there was really no way to save it.

 

Fluently cursing under his breath, Dipper decided to take a bath, leaving the picking up to the next day.

 

As the warm water ran down his body, he finally allowed himself to relax. Bill was back, they would be safe. He wanted his sister back, but he would rather wait a little more to get Mabel back home (and only after a good cleaning and reorganizing). He would need her to come up with new exhibitions, too.

 

Running his fingers through his tangled hair, he sighed. He hadn’t really realized how on edge he had been lately. And it slightly bothered him how quickly Bill’s presence had made him feel like everything would be okay, like he was safe. Despite everything Bill was still a demon and Dipper shouldn’t trust him the way he did. The way it was almost natural for him to.

 

“If you keep frowning like that, you’ll prematurely wrinkle, Pine Tree.”

 

Whatever sort of high pitched scream Dipper emitted, he honestly felt completely justified. Leaning on the edge of the tub, was Bill in his human shape, his head leaning on his crossed arms, a satisfied smirk on his face.

 

“GET OUT!” Dipper yelled, trying to cover himself with the shower curtain.

 

“It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before, kid.” the demon replied, chuckling as he leaned back.

 

“FOR FUCKS SAKE, BILL, OUT!”

 

Bill laughed out loud, ducking away from the flying bottle of shampoo that had been aimed at his face.

 

“Is that any way to treat your savior? I’m practically you prince in shining arm-”

 

This time, the bottle didn’t miss.

 

“Hey!”

 

“JUST… Just wait outside, you damned chip! I’ll be out in a second!” Dipper pleaded, trying to ignore and hide his blushing face.

 

“And here I thought you’d missed me, Pine Tree…” the demon hummed calmly as he stood up and walked outside.

 

“I did, but don’t push it…” Dipper muttered, mostly to himself, but judging by Bill’s chuckle, the demon heard him.

* * *

 

“Not bad, Pine Tree.” Bill hummed, his hands behind his back, his head tilted as he looked at the sigil that had been drawn on the door haphazardly.

 

“It wasn’t good enough…” Dipper hissed, rubbing his dripping wet hair with the towel. “It still got to Mabel…”

 

Silently, Bill looked at the human. His brown eyes were filled with remorse and his shoulders were hunched over with the stress.

 

“There’s nothing you could’ve done, Pine Tree…” Bill said, standing besides where Dipper had sat down. “Cardinal is not very smart, but he’s strong. Had you been able to protect Shooting Star as well, he would’ve found a way to break into either of your rooms. It would’ve been just a matter of time. And then he would’ve been even more violent.”

 

“It should’ve been me then…” Dipper muttered, resting his head against Bill. “She’s better now, but… She’s been so tired lately, Bill. She constantly has nightmares. Pacifica’s worried too.”

 

Bill looked down at him, a slight frown appearing in his face. “Nightmares? Shooting Star hasn’t been dreaming this last couple of nights. As a matter of fact, neither had you. That’s why I assumed everything was alright an-”

 

The demon’s sudden silence, made Dipper look up. Bill’s normally relaxed or mocking expression was completely and unnaturally serious.

 

“Bill?”

 

“... _That little motherfucker_.”

 

* * *

 

“What do you mean another dream demon?!” Dipper screeched as he followed Bill into the kitchen.

 

“I am the best around, yes, but I’m not the only one… He should know better, though!” the demon hissed, opening and closing drawers, taking out apparently random items.

 

“Know better than what? And why wouldn’t he? And what are you doing?” the boy demanded confused as the demon handed him a piece of white bread.

 

“He should know better than to mess with my territory, that’s what I want to find out and he likes bread.” Bill replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

 

And after all of those years dealing with the yellow demon, Dipper wasn’t sure he even wanted to know.

 

With what was left of the pancake flour, and after cleaning the kitchen floor with his foot from most of the debris, Bill drew a square filled with different sigils, some of which Dipper recognized.

 

“ _Nocte So_... _mni_...? _Somnium Nia_ … _Dia_...?” Dipper tried reading, tilting his head to the side, still holding the piece of bread in his hand.

 

“ _Nocte Somnium Diaboli_. The pompous bastard just had to find the most obnoxiously sounding latin he could find and use it for his summoning spell.” Bill corrected him through clenched teeth, rolling his eyes. “He’s not even here and I already want to punch him.”

 

“Well, if you’re so fond of him, this should be fun.” Dipper muttered sarcastically, looking at the demon as the bread was yanked off his hand. “Really, though, what’s with the bread?”

 

“Beats me if I know.” Bill replied throwing the bread within the demonic square.

 

The moment it touched the ground a bright light engulfed the room and over the roaring of the interdimensional portal being open, Dipper could hear Bill chant the summoning ritual. Before he could even cover his eyes, the light was gone and all that was left was a terrible buzzing in his ears and the beginning of a migraine.

 

“Well, this is unexpected.” a high pitched voice rang in his ears and Dipper almost winced. “I did not expect to see you anytime soon, William. Least with your human form. Who’s the unlucky bastard this time?”

 

Dipper’s ears were still ringing, but he clearly heard Bill’s growl. “Can it, Thad. I have business with you.”

 

Finally, Dipper looked up. Floating above the mess that had once been his kitchen, was a tall, thin man, looking unimpressed, with a top hat over blue, slick hair. He was smartly dressed and calmly leaned on a black umbrella while munching on the piece of bread.  

 

“Why, big brother, and here I thought you were calling me because you missed me.” Thad replied, calmly, taking another bite of the bread.

 

“Big brother?” The human repeated, looking confused.

 

Bill rolled his eyes. “Technicalities. Born of the same method, but not with the same intention. So, more like half brother… ” Then he leaned back, smirking. “Which is precisely why I exiled him to an alternate dimension.”

 

“Had I not been family, he’d probably would’ve killed me.” Thad replied with a sigh as his black eyes fell on Dipper. “William’s never liked sharing his toys… Which brings me to you, little human. Pine Tree, I presume.”

 

Before Dipper could reply, Thad was already floating in front of him, hand in the air, ready to touch him.

 

“You touch one hair in that boy, Thadeus and you will wish I would’ve killed you back then!” Bill sang with a wide smile, his golden eyes shining.

 

The other demon shrugged and backed off. “See? A bit possessive if you ask me.”

 

“We’re not here to talk about me, Thad. I want to know how you escaped your exile.”

 

“You’re the only one who can summon me here, dear William, otherwise I would be back home, playing with my toys.”

 

“Don’t lie to me Thadeus. You’ve always been a terrible liar!” Bill chuckled.

 

The other demon leered. “And you’re still too fond of playing with humans. There. Now that we have pointed out each other’s flaws, may I leave? I have places to be, things to do. Unlike you, I am pretty much on my way to conquering my own dimension, from which you so unceremoniously dragged me out of.”

 

“Thad, you’re hilarious.” Bill chuckled. At some point he had turned back into his demon triangle form. “Really, I’m cracking up.”

 

Bill laughed, and with each laughter, his body shined a little bit. Calmly he floated towards the other demon and placed his hand over the other’s arm, which immediately transformed him into a small blue square, with one eye, but still with his top hat and umbrella in hand. “Hilarious, but really…”

 

The triangle demon suddenly turned red and huge, taking the little square demon in his hands and squeezing. “I have plans and you interfering is not appreciated!” Bill’s voice sounded like many voices, distorted, low and dangerous.

 

Dipper stepped back, slowly, his whole body tense, ready to run. He had forgotten. He had honestly forgotten. This was Bill’s true form. Not sun-kissed skin and messy blond hair that covered bright golden eyes. That was an illusion, this was really the demon’s form. He’d just grown so used to Bill looking like a human…

 

An obnoxious laughter echoed through the Shack, and Dipper’s eyes focused back on the little demon being held by Bill.

 

“Now, now, William. You’re scaring your pet.” the demon pointed out, turning back to look at Dipper.

 

Bill’s red body slowly turned back to its original yellow and for a moment he looked blankly at him and Dipper wondered if it was really that easy for the demons to notice his fears. However, just as fast, Bill laughed.

 

“Of course I haven’t. But you should be, ‘cause you and I are having a private conversation, brother.” the yellow demon hissed and just like that, both of them were gone in a flash of monochrome colors, signaling they’d gone into the mindscape.

“Stupid geometric shapes…” Dipper muttered, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. “I’m going to bed.”

 

The house felt silent and empty, his footsteps echoing in the night. Of course he had been scared. He was still deciphering what had scared him, though. He’d always known Bill was a demon. It was just so easy to forget… And that was probably what scared him the most. Bill had become so human, so much a part of his life… What he had thought… What he had felt… Even if it had been just for a moment, he...

 

* * *

 

Bill stood in front of the closed door, the offending sigil right in front of him. Of course Dipper had closed his room, it was just like his paranoid little Pine Tree to do so. But the smell of the permanent marker still clung to the air and the sigil in front of him was like a slap on the face.

  
It, of course, meant nothing to his power. He placed his hand directly over it and, as if peeling off a sticker, Bill pulled and it came off. It was nothing to him and yet it meant everything. It meant Dipper had guarded himself even if he was back, even if he was there, keeping him safe. Dipper had guarded himself against him. It meant Thad had been right, and Dipper would pay for that.


End file.
